Harry Reid on a rampage: Threatens rule changes to give Democrats more power

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid raised the possibility Tuesday of another rules change to curtail filibusters, saying he is increasingly frustrated that Republicans are sticking to the letter of the rules and delaying action on dozens of President Obama’s nominations.

In the past, many of those nominees would have been approved in handshake deals, but after Mr. Reid first changed the filibuster last year, using the “nuclear option” to sideline Republicans, the chamber has been in a sort of legislative cold war.

Mr. Reid is able to eventually win any nominations his party wants, but Senate Republicans make him use every minute allotted under the rules, which often means having to wait days longer than he wanted.

Last year’s rules change proved to be deeply divisive but also incredibly successful for Mr. Reid. Under the new rules, it takes just a majority vote to end a filibuster on most nominees, and Mr. Reid has used that to push through several judges and other nominees that otherwise would have been blocked by Republican filibusters.

Republicans are bristling at the new filibuster rules and the way Mr. Reid imposed them — using a parliamentary tactic to change the rules with only Democratic support rather than the usual bipartisan, two-thirds vote most Senate rule changes require.

“Well, it was a bad idea the first time, and it’s a bad idea this time,” said Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, the second-ranking Republican in the chamber.

Republicans accuse Mr. Reid of running the Senate as a tyrant and single-handedly shutting down debate for Democrats and Republicans.

On Tuesday, Mr. Reid said he has no regrets about using parliamentary tools to block debate.

“If that makes me powerful, that’s too bad, because the only reason that we’re doing this is because for 51/2 years, everything that this president’s tried to do, they’ve stepped in the way,” he said.

Mr. Reid may be taking his lead on changing the rules from President Obama, who prodded the Senate last week. Speaking to donors at a Democratic fundraiser, Mr. Obama said lawmakers need to change “how a filibuster works.”

Mr. Reid’s immediate reaction at the time was to question the president. “Does he know we already did that?” the Senate leader asked.

Mr. Reid said this week that he has grown impatient with Republican delays on approving executive branch positions. He said Republicans were filibustering nominees to serve as U.S. attorneys in New Mexico, Louisiana and Connecticut.